"Artorius!?"
Jeanne lowered her head, her eyes widening in surprise. "Your hand… your hand… ngh!?"
Realizing that Shirou had taken her hand in front of so many people, the Saint's cheeks turned bright red.
She was just about to say something to ease the awkward mood when Shirou frowned in irritation.
"What are you doing? This isn't the time to stand around in a daze."
"Uh… sorry."
Jeanne froze for a moment, then apologized on instinct.
Even if it was only for an instant, I actually lost my way on the battlefield…
Ruler had once believed that no matter what enemy, hardship, or torment she faced, her faith alone would never waver.
It seems I'm still not mature enough.
If Artorius hadn't snapped me out of it in time…
The instant her eyes met the red-haired youth's, Jeanne sensed a certain encouragement in his gaze.
At last, she came back to herself.
That monster, Adam Kadmon, which did nothing but destroy everything and devour life, could never be a Savior…
And whatever that thing created could never be a "Paradise"!
Her slack expression tightened once more. The girl pressed her lips together, looked at Shirou, and showed a resolute expression.
My "Savior" is this person alone…!
"Sorry for making you worry… I'm fine now."
Hearing that, Shirou let go of her hand. "Oh, good. Seriously, don't make people worry so much."
A trace of regret flashed through Jeanne's eyes, but she quickly forced a smile. "Oh my, so you were worried about me?"
"Huh? Don't be stupid. Who'd worry about you?"
Shirou rolled his eyes, and Jeanne's chest heaved sharply with anger.
"Why do you have to say something so mean, you idiot Artorius!"
"Ahahaha, you two really are close… flirting even on the battlefield~"
"We are not flirting!" ×2
Shirou and Jeanne scolded Astolfo, who was riding a Hippogriff, in perfect unison.
Ruler began explaining the situation to everyone.
The giant's absurd self-regeneration was most likely derived from the "Blessing of the Earth."
As the "Primordial Human," an autonomous Reality Marble, its very existence could transform the surrounding environment into another world.
No one bleeds in paradise. In other words, injury "does not exist from the very beginning."
"So that's how it works…"
Just as Ruler had said, when they looked at the golem's feet, they could see plants rich with dense Mystery blooming where it stood, from which it was drawing an enormous amount of Mana.
"So this giant is actually a 'Reality Marble'?"
"A 'Reality Marble'?"
Jeanne froze when she heard Shirou say that.
"Caster's golem itself is a mobile Reality Marble.
A fantasy given physical form, now endowed with the power to erode the world."
Jeanne knew very little about Magecraft, so she nodded faintly, half-understanding.
"Hmm… it's just as you said. In any case, we have to defeat him quickly!
Once this entire area has been turned into paradise, he'll become completely immortal!"
Exactly. For the "Primordial Human," this hopeless land had not yet become paradise.
That was why the Heroic Spirits could still harm it, but only for a short time.
As long as the power of paradise continued to grow, in other words, as long as the giant continued to exist in this world, its recovery speed would skyrocket.
Ruler dodged the giant's downward swing and used the opening to thrust out with the Holy Banner. The thrust could not have reached its chest, so she aimed for its extended arm, but the greatsword, swiftly drawn back, blocked the blow.
Though she was the Ruler of the Holy Grail War, Jeanne did not possess a means to destroy the giant.
No… there was one, but it was a forbidden technique, and at the very least, not something suited for the current situation.
Her impatience kept mounting, but the adjudicator desperately forced it down and swung her banner to deflect the giant's attacks.
With Jeanne holding the front line, Shirou provided cover from the rear while analyzing their tactics.
The giant's original materials were wood, stone, soil, and the Magus serving as its "core."
Its weakness was most likely the same as a Heroic Spirit's, the "core" that served as its heart.
But destroying the heart with a single blow would not be enough. When Mordred had used her Noble Phantasm to burn away the giant's head earlier, Shirou had seen it.
There was a Spirit Core there as well.
In other words, to completely destroy Adam Kadmon, they had to destroy both its head and its heart at the same time, while also lifting both its feet off the ground.
"I've got an idea!"
Shirou rushed to the giant's feet, nimbly dodged a slash from the obsidian greatsword, then grabbed Jeanne and sprinted away.
"Switch!"
Mordred and Frankenstein took their place on the front line, becoming the giant's new targets and buying them time.
Shirou dragged the bewildered Jeanne to a safe area near the Fortress of Millennia.
Ruler had been contending with the giant's Monstrous Strength until just now, and her stamina was running low. She staggered and fell to the ground.
"Wait! That was too rough, Artorius!"
Jeanne rubbed her scraped knee, frowning as she shot Shirou a reproachful look. Then.
Shirou lifted her hand, bent down, and knelt on one knee before her.
"!?!?!?!"
Faced with that sudden gesture, Jeanne's mind went completely blank.
I-I-Is this… that?
The thing they always show in movies?
A-A-A pro…
Everyone is still fighting for their lives, and you're asking me to m-m-marry.
"Listen, Ruler! We don't have much time, so I'll keep this short!
Ever since three days ago, I've been fighting every night without rest, and I've used my Noble Phantasm several times.
Manaka may be an exceptionally skilled Magus, but my Mana reserves are almost empty…
So I need you to recharge me with your Mana now… using your 'Divine Judgment'!"
"Huh? Eh? Wait…"
Jeanne was dumbfounded. I-It wasn't a proposal!?
"I remember that Ruler possesses Command Spells that can issue orders to each Servant, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's right…!"
"Then take Manaka's place and give me the order to 'destroy the Giant.'"
Ruler was so shocked by Shirou's request that she could not speak.
W-why me…?
Jeanne did not know that Shirou had no one else he could ask, because Manaka was unwilling to use a Command Spell.
"N-No, no, I can't! Command Spells aren't meant to be used for this…"
"It should be fine, right? The Command Spells Ruler has shouldn't be any different from a Master's Command Spells."
"Ugh… but…"
Jeanne bit her lip.
Shirou's gaze was utterly resolute.
He was probably only proposing this strategy for the simple purpose of defeating the giant.
But to Jeanne, this act carried another meaning.
Somehow…
If we really do this, it feels as though we'd be betraying Manaka-san…
"Is this going to work or not!?" Shirou urged.
"Aaaargh, I don't care anymore!"
The blonde girl shouted as if she had given up on everything.
"Command Spells, right!? I get it, I get it! I'll use one on Artorius! You'd better brace yourself!"
Ruler rose from the ground and looked at the red-haired boy gripping her hand.
"In the name of Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, I command you by the power of this Command Spell!
Saber of 'Black'! Defeat the giant created by Caster with all your strength!"
Along with that dignified proclamation, the crimson glow of a Command Spell flared from the Saint's back.
At the same time, a surging tide of Mana flowed not through the Greater Grail's path, nor through the Fate Line of his Master, Manaka Sajyou.
Jeanne's Mana poured into the Dragon Circuits inside Shirou's body and ignited his Dragon Core.
...
Hearing footsteps behind her, Mordred pushed her "Mana Burst" to the limit and deflected the obsidian greatsword's slash.
"Too slow! How long were you planning to make us wai."
The "Red" Saber turned around, and the moment she saw that long-absent figure, her eyes widened in shock.
And she was not the only one. Everyone present, including the Masters and the Yggdmillennia Magus, was shaken to the core by his appearance.
No wonder.
Shirou Amamiya's body had now strayed far from anything human.
His distinctive red hair had turned pure white, while the tips of his limbs and the ends of his hair were dyed pitch-black.
Behind the youth spread a pair of translucent wings completely out of proportion with his body, spanning more than ten meters.
What covered them could hardly be called feathers. They were more like razor-sharp black blades.
He simply floated in the air, doing nothing at all, yet an immense torrent of Mana swirled endlessly around his body.
A human with the power of Dragonkind?
No. This was Dragonkind that had retained a human form.
"A 'Black' Saber…? No, just who are you?"
Fiore's voice trembled.
"Ah, now that you mention it, this should be the first time I've shown this form. I was trying to avoid turning into this as much as possible…
Ruler's Mana is way too pure… sigh. I really do cause trouble for people."
The boy who seemed to be "Shirou Amamiya" lowered his head and examined his own body.
The pitch-black patterns covering his skin were a dragon shell harder than any substance in the world.
The hands that had once gripped the Holy Sword had now become dragon claws like the tips of a demon sword.
The phantom form of the "Black" Saber was.
The final end of a counterfeit who drew The Sword of Selection and became the Ideal King.
The result of devouring an ancient dragon's heart and replacing his own Mana circuits with Dragon Circuits.
The hideous form ultimately reached by a fool who sought an ideal and pursued power.
"."
Shirou took a deep breath and slowly released the True Name of this Spirit Origin.
"My name is… Arthur Albion."
The Guardian of Britannia and King of Paradise descended here.
...
"Absurd… what is that form!?"
"So you noticed after all, Caster of 'Black.'"
Shirou looked at Avicebron, who had awakened from unconsciousness.
Even with his immeasurable knowledge of Magecraft, he could not help doubting his own eyes at the sight before him. His astonishment was clear even through his mask.
"Impossible! A human… a human can actually withstand the heart of a Grand Dragon and fuse with Dragonkind…!?"
"But this man has done it. What you see before you proves that."
Jeanne walked over, gazing at Shirou with a calm, admiring look.
"That is the true form of the 'Black' Saber.
A limited form that the 'King of Salvation' cannot display under the restrictions of the Holy Grail War."
Avicebron was left speechless.
The legend of the King of Paradise… was real?
Then what exactly is the paradise I have pursued?
And what does that make the giant I created?
"No, no… You are nothing more than a false product born from human fantasies, just like the vampire Dracula!"
Refusing to accept reality, Avicebron denied the existence of the "Black" Saber.
"Whether it is the power of a Grand Dragon or anything else… it cannot defeat the activated 'Golem Keter Malkuth.' Do not underestimate my Adam…!"
"I'm not underestimating it."
Shirou spoke in an even tone. "If anything, I have some respect for the resolve it took to sacrifice a child who admired you in order to fulfill your obsession.
But have you realized it, Caster? Everything you have done is no different from the humans you despise, the ones you hid yourself away from, the ones you wished to destroy."
"Wh…!?"
Shirou's words struck Caster with a shock unlike anything he had felt before.
At that moment, none of his former composure remained.
"How do you know."
"Of course I know. Your obsession, and your pain… Without them, a giant so sacred and majestic could never have taken form.
You thought you could abandon everything for your ideal, but Roché's pleas and screams before his death still shook you.
That is why you deliberately stood on the giant's shoulder to draw my attack, all so you could seek judgment and punishment."
"Shut up…!"
Caster flew into a rage after having his innermost thoughts exposed.
"But, Caster…"
Shirou's gaze turned ice-cold.
"Your sins cannot be atoned for with something as simple as death. You're only running away."
"I will shatter your ideal with my own hands and make you taste true despair."
"Shut up… shut up, shut up, shut up!!"
Ignoring Caster's roar, Shirou beat the wings on his back and rose above "Golem Keter Malkuth."
No matter how vast and towering the giant's body was, it could now do nothing but accept the King's gaze from above.
"Kneel before me… false god."
Shirou raised his empty right claw high and took a throwing stance.
At the same time, a void-like light flowed from the position of his heart.
At first glance, it was pure darkness, a black current that seemed capable of swallowing all light.
The pure Mana flowing from the dragon's core condensed in Shirou's right palm, finally forming a massive weapon shaped like an anchor.
As he hurled the pitch-black dragon's breath, he roared:
"The Dragon's Heart of ■■■■ (Albion)!!"
The light spilling from the dragon's heart gathered, finally becoming a single beam that would bring ruin to all creation.
An "Anti-World Noble Phantasm."
An absolute power capable of destroying the world itself.
Whether its opponent was a giant with infinite regenerative ability or an autonomous Reality Marble that created "Paradise," it made no difference.
Before the dragon's breath that had turned for 4.6 billion years, anything man-made was fragile and powerless.
The destructive light returning to the stars burned away the golem's two Spirit Cores, along with both feet planted on the earth.
***
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